US frees 80 Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo - report

Around 80 Afghan prisoners have been released from the controversial US naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Around 80 Afghan prisoners have been released from the controversial US naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

A spokesman for Afghanistan's Supreme Court said the prisoners had been brought from Guantanamo and that they would be freed later today "after Supreme Court officials speak to them."

The United States had previously released some 200 prisoners from its remote base on the southeastern tip of Cuba where suspects were first taken bound and shackled three years ago in the wake of the US-led war in Afghanistan.

US-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government for failing to surrender al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities.

READ MORE

Some 18,000 US troops are still based in Afghanistan engaged in the hunt for al Qaeda and the remnants of the Taliban.